menu monday

oh my-- so much this last week -- and today...i am exhausted! - i can hardly keep my eyes open...

3 things

1. we had a great trip to florida -- not quite "florida" weather, but a fabulous time nonetheless -- more to come this week

2. after various conversations with various people -- i have decided to post my weekly menu. some never have a bit of trouble deciding what to eat during the week. you would be surprised at how many don't or may not have the time to think about it until it's already past time to eat. 2 1/2 years ago, i started making a weekly menu. since a fair amount of the time i was cooking only for myself -- eating out was taking over and i wasn't happy with the health or pocket book results -- not to mention there are only so many options for vegetarian t.v.dinners, etc.... at first, it was difficult to remember to take the time to plan out the week and it didn't always stick, but gradually it became easier -- then came the summer and cooking for three hungry men, plus myself, in a 5th wheel trailer -- not a lot of space for ingredient storage -- after that -- living with our roommates and deciding a menu worked like magic ...these days, planning is a habit and also a way to make conscious food choices -- are we eating healthy? balanced? seasonal? -- what can i buy locally? what can i use out of my pantry? will i need to go to the grocery store more than once this week? --- best of all, most days i know what i am going to eat for each meal, so there is not much temptation to hit up a fast food place or get take out -- unless i really want to. good for health. good for the bank account.

so... here is our menu for the week-- with a little elaboration/explanation --
note: at our house, we eat a mix of vegan/vegetarian --use our juicer and our blender often--try lots of new recipes-- have two "party" or "junk food" days a week -- thursday night pizza/take out and saturday... but the rest of the week our goal is to eat a variety of un-processed whole foods...and ones that are fairly easy to prepare. as food is a very personal preference--- you can modify/omit to fit your kitchen-- feel free to pass the website link or menu along -- cheers to a new year and better health!! ---p.s. i am not a dietitian and do not make any claims that this is a perfectly balanced menu -- just an idea generator... and also what i am going to eat this week

jan 18-24 menu -- featuring recipes from:

"Cooking Outside the Box" -- Able&Cole

**this is a great cookbook. if you would like the featured recipes, please leave a comment telling me which ones you are interested in and your email...i will be in touch...

3. project 365 -- i will post the pics from last week this week, but for now, here is today -- we had stir-fry for dinner -- it was delicious-- and we watched "Julie&Julia" -- also delicious ...